A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to lead a breakout on 8 Dimensions of Leadership at the Dynamic Women Succeed event.

Before my presentation started, one of the participants said, “Aren’t you the time management lady? Did you change your business?”

So – good news – she knew the main focus of my business is to help leaders and teams be more productive, more effective, and more efficient so they can take strategic action instead of just feeling busy all day long.

Bad news – she didn’t see how increasing leadership skills could accomplish that!

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Here’s how:

Think about a situation where you’ve needed to make a hard decision that affected some of the people you led (at work, in your family, in your church, etc.). How you went about making that decision matters.

  • Did you do some research?
  • Did you ask others for their opinions?
  • Did you consider long-term ripple down effects?

The (often unconscious) process you used to make this decision ties back to your primary leadership style.

I am a Deliberate leader and tend to research the decision to death … yet seek limited buy-in from those I lead. Energizing leaders, on the other hand, are quick to make decisions and pull people in, yet seldom focus on the details needed to implement.

You can see the inherent challenges from both of these styles, right? (And these are just two of EIGHT different styles!) Limited buy-in leads to struggle, hurt feelings, and frustration the first time something doesn’t run smoothly. Which leads to lots and lots of additional conversations…and wasted time.

On the other hand, not focusing on the details needed to implement the solution can lead to missing steps. Which leads to frustrations and meetings trying to figure out why the decision was made . . . but nothing changes! Again, wasted time.

When you understand the benefits and drawbacks of the way you lead, you can flex and adapt. For instance, as a Deliberate leader, I can flex a bit to be more Inclusive. This doesn’t mean I let go of my strength of evaluating the data – it just means I also reach out to get some feedback and ideas (data!) from people.

Or – you can unconsciously continue to lead in your natural style and not recognize the effect this has on those around you.

If you would like to learn more about the 8 Dimensions of Leadership and what your primary leadership style, email me at [email protected] and I’ll send you a link for a Complimentary Assessment.